“Where have you hidden the baked beans ?”
Posted by Big John on January 26, 2012
Today I thought that I would break the record time for doing the ‘weekly shop’ as I had a fairly straight forward list of items to grab as I zoomed around my local Sainsbury’s which, of course, I know ‘like the back of my hand’. I was wrong !
Right ! .. First stop, fruit and veg .. No problem .. Now for some fresh pasta .. Oops ! .. It’s not there .. OK ! .. I’ll pick up a pack of bacon .. No! .. There’s cooked chicken where the bacon should be, and all the sausages have gone missing !
Yes ! .. You’ve guessed it ! .. Some management moron has decided to re-arrange half the store and this is confusing and pissing off both customers and staff alike, so Gawd knows how it is affecting the “zombies“.
Now perhaps I am being unfair to the manager, as he was probably only obeying orders from ‘head office’ where some marketing expert prat thinks shifting stuff around the store increases sales, because he’s been on a course where an even bigger prat told him that getting the customers to seek out what they need prompts them to buy other items which they discover during their search.
So some old lady who is looking for her favouite low fat yoghurt will buy the jalapeño dip which now sits on the shelf in it’s place, and the harrassed mum, with screaming brat in tow, will forget about the orange juice and buy a bottle of extra virgin olive oil instead.
I suppose that it is all to do with “impulse buying” or some such theory, but all it does is give me the impulse to push my trolley (cart) …
… around another store !
Rummuser said
There would appear to be a conspiracy of some sort among all retailers. Our local retailer has also been doing exactly that and with my lame leg, I was reduced to tears trying to find what I wanted, which, was not where I always found it. And, yes, you are right, the local honcho has been told to shift things around without being told why. I simply went to the check out counter and sat on the table and asked the staff to go and get it for me! I offered satyagraha. Remember that old trick of that Fakir from India? It worked too.
Gabbygeezer said
Aha, you have hit upon my beautiful wife’s favorite complaint. She uses even more colorful language to rant about her feelings toward the endless food shelf changes. We’ve tried moving to a new supermarket in protest. After two weeks, they reorganized everything! Sandy has not tried satyagraha; I think she is learning more toward an armed attack.
Maria said
Also true here in our little town. Like Ramana I have learned to ask clerks for help.
Betty said
It’s the Walmart influence. Resist it with all your might. If you have to, stage a sit-in. Enlist other shoppers to join you – call it “Occupy Sainsbury’s.” Trust me, you don’t want ANY of Walmart’s marketing theories seeping into your country . Act, before it’s too late! Consider yourself warned.
Ginnie said
We are all creatures of habit and you’d think the savvy storeowner would realize that!
Big John said
Well, it seems like we all suffer from the same problem. I like your idea Ramana, but Betty, I’m afraid that you are too late, for Walmart already owns one of the big four supermarket chains here in the UK. It’s called ‘ASDA’.
Grannymar said
This is not a one store problem, it is a marketing strategy that has gone on for years. It is simply a ploy to confuse and make us buy items we don’t normally use. Big marketing ideas designed by men who NEVER do the shopping! Grrr!